The parents of Harry Dunn, the teenage motorbike driver killed in a road crash, have accused the US of “obstructing” their son’s inquest, saying they look forward to working with the next Westminster government to launch a public investigation.
Neither representatives from the US embassy nor the killer’s driver, Anne Sacoolas, attended the four-day inquest, which finished on Thursday, prompting Dunn family spokesman Rad Sager to say Washington’s position was that “the lives of British nationals like Harry don’t matter at the end of the day”.
Mr Sager told the PA news agency that Labour had promised the family a public inquiry into how Sacoolas caused the death of the 19-year-old in August 2019 and was able to leave the country after his side claimed diplomatic immunity.
Coroner Anne Pember criticised the US government for inadequate driver training for diplomats who were based at RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire before Mr Dunn’s death.
She recorded his cause of death as “injuries sustained in a head-on collision” with a vehicle travelling on the wrong side of the road.
Pember also issued three notices to prevent future fatalities: two to the Minister for Health about drugs carried by paramedics and overburdening of ambulance services, one each to the Foreign Office and the Ministry of Defence about US driver training in the UK.
Speaking outside Northampton Coroner’s Court, Mr Dunn’s mother, Charlotte Charles, reiterated her “disgust” at Mr Sacoolas and the US Embassy’s decision not to attend the inquest, saying it was a “disrespect” to her son.
She told reporters: “It just reinforced my opinion that they have no consideration for me, my family, our wider family. They just don’t care.”
Ms Sacoolas, the wife of a US diplomat who was based at the airbase at the time of the crash, fled to the US after the incident and claimed diplomatic immunity. She was sentenced via video link in December 2022 to eight months in prison, suspended for one year, for causing death by careless driving.
Of the US government’s actions, Mr Seeger told the PA news agency: “It wasn’t enough to kill Harry, it was also not enough to then kick his family in the foot at their darkest hour and deny and attempt to delay the justice they were entitled to.”
“As we all saw this week, their attitude and commitment to keeping their British hosts safe has been made clear and they have obstructed the coroner’s investigation, depriving the family of the answers they deserve as to why no one has addressed the issue of the safety of British nationals.”
“The next question is why the UK government has been happy to stand by and watch this scandal unfold for so many years. This Conservative government has refused to get involved.”
“Labour has promised a public inquiry into the treatment we received and the failure of both governments to address safety issues over decades, resulting in thousands of people being killed and seriously injured.”
The inquest was told that Mr Sakolas, who provided two new statements to the coroner, now works as an analyst for the US State Department.
In one witness statement, Sacoolas apologised for a “tragic mistake” and said he would live with it “every day of the rest of my life”.
Mr Sacoolas said he did not realise he was driving on the wrong side of the road “until after the collision” and “instinctively moved to the right side of the road”.
After the accident, she “hysterically called out to the driver of the car” and “begged him to call for help,” according to the statement.
The hearing has been postponed twice this week for discussions about whether she will attend the hearing.
Sager added: “The British government is now also finding out how the US government treats British courts and judges.”
“The question for the next UK government is: are we going to stand idly by while the US continues to show contempt for all of us and our ways of life?”
“At the time Harry died, the US ambassador was Woody Johnson. He told the British government, [Dunn] When Harry died, I felt there were things far more important than Harry’s life, and that was the position of the US government: the lives of British citizens like Harry ultimately don’t matter.
“We will not let them get away with it, and we look forward to working with the next administration to conduct this public investigation.”
